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Christmas Tree Lane

Dec. 24, 1938: Altadena’s annual Christmas Tree Lane opens on Christmas Eve for motorists to slowly drive through with their headlights off. The deodar trees were decorated with some 10,000 lights.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Christmas Day that “More than 4,000,000 persons have admired the magnificent spectacle during the last 17 years.”

The trees were planted in 1885 on the Frederick J. Woodbury ranch that is now Altadena. The 0.7-mile lane is now listed on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places and is designed as a California Historical Landmark.